MANILA, Philippines -- There is at least one instance of ranking military officials being taken hostage—and killed—in Mindanao.

On Jan. 5, 1989, Brig. Gen. Eduardo Batalla, then commander of the Philippine Constabulary in Western Mindanao, and his chief of staff Col. Romeo Abendan, along with five other people, were taken hostage by discharged policemen and soldiers in Batalla’s own office at the Recom-9 headquarters in Cawa-Cawa, Zamboanga City.

The hostage-takers were led by rogue cop Rizal Alih, who, along with the group numbering about seven, had been ordered to report to Batalla’s office in connection with the killing of seven persons in 1984.

During the meeting, Alih was told that he and his men would be detained—himself in Camp Crame and the rest in Zamboanga City.

An angered Alih drew his firearm and a brief firefight ensued, leading to the hostage-taking.

Members of the Marine Corps subsequently surrounded the area, but Alih, shouting over a megaphone, threatened to kill the hostages if government troops attacked.

2 more demands

He demanded to talk with then Sen. Santanina Rasul, a relative of his, and then Defense Secretary Fidel V. Ramos.

Ramos refused to go.

At around 7 p.m., Rasul and then Speaker Ramon Mitra arrived at the Recom-9 headquarters to negotiate for the release of the hostages.

Mitra offered to take Alih under his protective custody in Palawan.

But Alih laid down two more demands—two helicopters to fly him and his men out of the country and the immediate removal of all Christian soldiers from the area.

The military formed an assault team with Brig. Gen. Braulio Balbas as commander. Balbas ordered that the area be cordoned off, and gave Alih until 1 a.m. of the next day to resume negotiations.

By this time, a big number of armed Moro soldiers had slipped into the camp and joined the hostage-takers.

Blood

Alih called for another meeting with Mitra and Rasul. After hours of negotiations, he agreed to release the hostages at 3 a.m.

But when Mitra emerged, he said he had seen blood leading to the bathroom where Batalla was being held. He said he had insisted on seeing the hostage and was not allowed to do so.

Balbas also asked to see Batalla, but at 7 a.m. the next day, the request had yet to be granted.

In the afternoon, the military announced that the government was sticking to Mitra’s offer. But Alih threatened to kill the hostages if no fresh negotiation was held by 4 p.m.

Alih’s failure to show Batalla shortly after 4 p.m. heightened speculation that the general had been killed, prompting military troops to launch an attack.

The exchange of gunfire lasted for four hours.

Another attack was mounted eight hours later, and the battle raged through the night until the next morning.

When the smoke cleared, 19 people were found dead.

There was no official identification of the charred or mutilated bodies. But the remains of Batalla and Abendan were later recovered.

The military also announced that seven of the hostage-takers were among the dead.

Alih, however, managed to escape and to slip out of the country and into Malaysia.

In 1994, he was arrested and jailed in Malaysia for illegal possession of high-powered firearms.

In January 2006, after serving eight years in prison, Alih was deported back to the Philippines, where he now faces murder charges for the 1989 siege.

Treachery in peace dialogue

Another instance also ended in bloodshed and death.

In the early morning of Oct. 10, 1977, Brig. Gen. Teodulfo Bautista and 34 officers and men, including five colonels, went to a tiny marketplace in Patikul, Sulu, for a peace dialogue with Usman Sali, then said to be the province’s most powerful leader.

Sali, a local chieftain of the separatist Moro National Liberation Front that would sign a peace agreement with the government more than a decade later, had been pushing for autonomy in Mindanao for five years.

But he invited Bautista and his group for a peace dialogue that could lead to the enforcement of a ceasefire.

The invitation suggested that Sali and his men were willing to join the government side.

According to accounts, Bautista was being greeted by a smiling Sali when a voice was heard shouting, “Dapa (Drop to the ground)!”

As Sali did so, about 150 MNLF troops showed up and opened fire at the visitors.

Bautista and his men were killed immediately.

Sali was reported to have fled to Sabah. He has yet to be brought to justice.

Logged

The needs and interests of the Filipino is primary while that of foreigners is secondary.However, some Filipinos are still uneasy about this and would rather be the apologists or defenders of foreign interests.

sabi nga nang isang Marine officer they tried to stop Gen. Dolorfino to go to the MNLF camp but still the general insisted in going!, they just want to avoid further incident like what happen to Bautista!

The Philippines have done an amazing job keeping their Cannon-class Frigate operational–who would have imagined that the World War II veteran (with a U-boat kill to her credit, no less) would still be up and operational for the Balikatan 2010 exercises? That is an amazing feat, and if there is a Navy out there that can keep an older combatant going, it’s the Philippines’ Navy.

Another case where a General was taken hostage and killed was that of Col Rodolfo Aguinaldo's rebellion in March 1990. I remember, he was a good General and the spokesperson of the AFP.

Quote

1990, Mar 4. During heavy fighting between government troops and armed men loyal to Cagayan Governor Rodolfo Aguinaldo, Brig. Gen. Oscar Florendo is fatally shot. Florendo was a member of a government party which went to the capital of Cagayan province, Tuguegarao, to arrest Aguinaldo. Like Enrile, Aguinaldo was accused of having aided the rebels in the failed December coup.

Early one morning last week, Philippine Brigadier General Teodulfo Bautista, accompanied by 34 of his men (including five colonels), strode trustingly into the tiny marketplace of Patikul on Jolo Island, some 600 miles south of Manila. Bautista, 49, had come to Patikul for peace talks with Osman Salleh, a local chieftain of the Moro National Liberation Front....

…The Filipino, it seems, has lost his soul, his dignity, and his courage. We have come upon a phase of our history when ideals are only a veneer for greed and power, (in public and private affairs) when devotion to duty and dedication to a public trust are to be weighted at all times against private advantages and personal gain, and when loyalties can be traded. …Our government is in the iron grip of venality, its treasury is barren, its resources are wasted, its civil service is slothful and indifferent, its armed forces demoralized and its councils sterile., We are in crisis...

President Ferdinand Edralin Marcos

"Taking into account the disadvantages they have to fight against in terms of arms, equipment and military discipline, without artillery, short of ammunition, powder inferior, shells reloaded until they are defective, they are the bravest men I have ever seen...

Early one morning last week, Philippine Brigadier General Teodulfo Bautista, accompanied by 34 of his men (including five colonels), strode trustingly into the tiny marketplace of Patikul on Jolo Island, some 600 miles south of Manila. Bautista, 49, had come to Patikul for peace talks with Osman Salleh, a local chieftain of the Moro National Liberation Front....